Vernal Pools and Herpetofauna

Since 2013 I started to consider a number of alternative sites in and outside the Halton area that could be suitable for a more comparative approach to the investigations at the vernal pool discovered in the Neyagawa-NHS.

Halton is divided into two main geophysical realms by the Escarpment, uplands to the west and a lowland that includes the ancient littoral of Lake Iroquois which has been completely covered by urban development (see Figure 1.) The Neyagawa-NHS, the anthropogenic Glenorchy field, and the 14 Mile Creek are all on the lowland section of Halton. Two sites have been added to the survey located in the Escarpment upland: the Yaremko-Ridley Conservation Halton lands and a private property (named PL) on the west margins of the Grand RIver watershed in the Township of North Dumfries.

Figure 1. Halton Region divided by the Escarpment into uplands to the west – left) and lowlands to the east.

Belonging to a completely different landscape is a third site: the Cawthra-Mulock Nature Reserve located in the township of East Gwillinbury. Work at this sites is under the direction of Ontario Nature.

Work and results on these sites is being shared with Conservation Halton and Ontario Nature’s Backyard Salamander and the Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas Projects